Homeowners Face Risks With Unlicensed Roofers

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Thousands of Central Florida homeowners need a new roof after a devastating hurricane season. Out-of-state roofers are here in force. Some are legal, licensed and insured while others are not.

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Homeowners Face Risks With Unlicensed Roofers

There are risks to hiring one of these unlicensed roofers, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

WESH NewsChannel 2's Michelle Meredith visited an Orange County neighborhood and said no matter where they went, the roofers were either on the run or had a sudden and severe case of "amnesia."

"You're moving away from us. Why?" Meredith asked one roofer.

"Because I got to get to work," he said.

"So you don' t know the name of the company you're working for and you don't have their business card," she asked another.

"No," he said.

What's the problem? Why were we about as welcome as a wet dog at a wedding? Because both these crews are not licensed to work in the state of Florida. The workers Meredith tried to talk to are from North Carolina and Georgia, and they are working here illegally.

Here's how it happens. Let's say an out-of-state roofing company wants to work in Florida, but they don't have a Florida license. They hook up with a licensed Florida contractor and work under their license. Some local contractors call them "storm chasers." The state of Florida calls them unlicensed contractors, and it's against the law.

"At this time, I know this is a third-degree felony to violate the contractor licensing laws in the state of Florida," said Bob Olin with Orange County's Building Division.

But why should you care? You're desperate. Your roof leaks. You can't want until Christmas or next year to get it fixed. "These guys were a miracle to come here. They really were," one homeowner said.

But that miracle could turn into madness. For starters, on just about every roofing job NewsChannel 2 visited, the crews were working with no permit. That's illegal because with no permit, there will be no inspection by the county and you'll have no way to know if you got a roof built to code -- one that will protect you during the next hurricane season.

Then there's that nagging question about insurance. These guys could be insured to work in their state, but not in Florida. So, if they fall and get hurt while working on your roof, you could be liable.

"It's easy to get hurt very badly. And I don't think any homeowner wants to take that chance," Olin said.

So what's the state doing to stop this? Locally they've got a least six inspectors patrolling the streets. But there are so many roofs to fix and so many unlicensed contractors ready to fix them that "it's a problem you almost need an Army to control," said inspector Juan Quintana.

So, they control what they can. When inspectors arrived at one home in Winter Springs in Seminole County, they saw one big red flag: no permit posted. There was a second red flag: one guy has never done roof work in his life.

"This particular gentleman up on the roof was picking tobacco a month or two ago up in Connecticut, and now he's here doing roofing work," Quintana said.

There was third red flag: the homeowner has no contract. He does have the company's business card, but there's no contractor's license number on the card.

"He's got in here carpentry, electrical, tree trimming, auto repair and concrete work. This is a jack of all trades," Quintana said.

But he's not a licensed contractor, which NewsChannel 2 confirmed in phone calls made to the state. When confronted, what did the owner of the company have to say?

"Just get out of here. I don't want to talk to you," he said.

But his wife told us they really thought his occupational license did the trick.

"Honestly, we were under the assumption that with this license -- as you can see Alba's Handyman and here's my proof of liability insurance -- that this would have been enough to show to the homeowners. We are showing them this, and they are very happy with our work. We really did not feel that we were breaking the law," said Mary Alba.

The state shut them down and now their customers, those homeowners who thought they had a "miracle," must go through the madness of finding yet another company to fix their roof.

There's a reason for all these laws -- they protect you. Here are four things to you need to know before you hire a roofer:

• Make sure the roofer is licensed in the state of Florida. Legal out-of-state roofers can be issued a temporary license, which usually comes in the form of a photo ID.
• Before work starts, make sure that the licensed roofer has pulled a permit, not you! Also, make sure that the permit has been posted.
• That permit triggers an important step: the roof inspection. Make sure your roof passes county inspection.
• Make sure the crew is insured through Florida worker's comp. They're supposed to be able to prove they have insurance on the spot.

To check on your roofer's license, call (850) 487-1395 or visit www.myfloridalicense.com.

To check whether the roofer have worker's compensation, call (800) 742-2214.

To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Michelle Meredith.